TGIT, friends! Today’s post is a fun one—I’m linking up with some other Empress Themes fans—and the two founders!—to talk about the five items under $50 we can’t live without.

Real quick before we dive into the prompt, a note about Empress. For those of you unfamiliar, I redesigned my blog this fall and opted to use an Empress theme. This is seriously one of the best decisions I’ve made for my blog for several reasons. First, Empress is so easy to customize—anytime I want to change the color, font, or re-order any menus, I don’t need to use any complicated code to do so. Second, Empress allows you to access the amazing talents Lisa and Victoria have to offer without the price tag of a custom site—talk about a win-win. I talk more about my experience with Empress in this post, and I’m always happy to answer any questions you may have via the comments below or email (katie@atouchofteal.com).

Now, back to those five things under $50 I can’t live without. This list of things was surprisingly hard for me to put together because, at first glance, many of the things I love and use every day are more expensive. But, then I made it a point over the course of a week or so to take note of the items I was reaching for day after day, which is how I came up with the list below. 

24-ounce Tervis Tumbler • $17

I’ve found the best way to ensure I’m chugging water throughout the day is to have a huge glass of it in front of me at all time. I love Tervis tumblers because they don’t condensate, aren’t breakable, and survive the dishwasher well. I’m not a huge fan of any of the trendy water bottles, like the Bkr or Swell, for daily water consumption because you have to twist the top off to drink out of them—and, let’s be real, I’m lazy. With the Tervis tumbler, it’s minimal effort to drink out of because I always ditch their lids.

I have five or six 24-ounce Tervis tumblers and prefer them over the smaller sizes because I have to get up less times during the workday for refills—again, my laziness prevails. I keep a Tervis at my desk at work, one in my living room, and one in my bedroom so that no matter where I am, I don’t have an excuse to not be drinking water. I aim to drink the 24-ounces five or six times during the workday, and most days I reach this goal because it’s so easy to mindlessly drink it when it’s right in front of me.

For my birthday this year, my sister secretly asked my step grandma if we could have her Y2K Celebration Tervis tumblers that have sequins in them—and she said yes! So, even though I love all of my Tervis tumblers, I have to say that the sequin ones take the cake.

Sharpie Plastic Point Pens • $13

Y’all, I am one of those people that loves office supplies and let me just tell you, I *live* for these Sharpie plastic point pens. Whenever we get a new batch of these at work, my office admin brings them to me so I can get first dibs on refreshing my stock. I have one of these pens in every bag I own, and I don’t even bother with other pens anymore.

I love them because the point on these is very fine and thin, but they’re still liquid-y enough that you get the same satisfaction you do when you’re writing with a real Sharpie. The ink does not bleed through the page, which makes these perfect for everyday writing. I love the blue and black ink best, but they come in all sorts of fun colors, too.

Old Navy Compression Crop Leggings • $27

When I started working out three or four days a week last spring, I quickly realized that I needed to make an investment in my workout wardrobe because I only had a couple of viable leggings and tops for exercising—and considering I only do laundry every ten days or so, it was much-needed. I figured instead of shelling out $100 for a single pair of leggings, I’d buy cheaper pairs so that I could have enough for a week’s worth of workout classes. I bought a pair of Old Navy compression crop leggings on a whim because the price was unbeatable—and ended up falling in love with them.

Now, these are the only leggings I’ll wear to workout because they stay in place regardless of whether I’m spinning or running or rowing. And, Old Navy is constantly coming out with new patterns and mesh designs—they’re so cute! On this page you can see the whole selection of leggings they have—I’ve tried some of their yoga and non-compression leggings, both of which are good, but the compression factor is really what makes these perfect for working out versus general athleisure wear.

Aveeno Ultra-Calming Daily Moisturizer • $14

One day last summer, I had used up the last of my expensive moisturizer and needed to buy something cheap while I was waiting for the “good stuff” to arrive. I ran into CVS and bought this Aveeno Ultra-Calming Daily Moisturizer because I knew Jennifer Aniston was the spokesperson for Aveeno, so I figured it wouldn’t be half bad. (Yes, that was seriously my rationale. #RachelGreen) Turns out, this random desperation buy ended up being one of my favorite moisturizers of all time.

I still use a thicker moisturizer at night, but this one is perfect for my morning skincare routine. It’s lightweight and has SPF, which is perfect for under makeup, but still provides a lot of good moisture. It also is very gentle, so it doesn’t cause my skin to breakout, and has actually does a great job of combatting dry skin this winter. Next time you’re in the drugstore, definitely pick this one up!

Halogen Long Sleeve Knit Tunic • $39

My sister makes fun of me because I’m always “dressed up.” I don’t really own loungewear and am one of those weird people who will stay in my work clothes when I get home. I just don’t feel like myself when I’m not dressed nicely! That being said, when I do want to “dress down” the first shirt I reach for is the Halogen Long Sleeve Knit Tunic—you can see it in action in this post.

I own this tunic in both the black and white stripe and the black—they were Anniversary Sale purchases—and love wearing them with leggings and sneakers on the weekends to run errands. They also look great with jeans. I’ve even started sleeping in them because they’re so soft! They hold up great in the wash and don’t shrink. I bought a medium, but like most Halogen clothes, they run on the larger side, so definitely go down if you’re in between sizes.

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Check out the five items under $50 these awesome ladies can’t live without!

Indigo Row

Sincerely, Dani Rose

Luv in the Bubble

TamarasJoy.com

Not for Wallflowers

Politics of Pretty

Monica Dutia

Rosé and Brosé

VICILOVES

Beauty and Burberry

Victoria McGinley Studio

Elembee

The Sasha Nicole

Bedknobs & Baubles

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